Heating for the shop

[Sominus]

I’m thinking of getting one of these to heat my shop for the cooler days here in the Gulf Coast…

https://smile.amazon.com/Comfort-Zone-C ... e+&sr=8-17

Your thoughts?

[Nickp]

...what will you do to keep your meter from spinning up to the stratosphere...?

I don't know the model you posted...I think mine is about the same...works well...works better if it's left on "auto" to warm up all the stuff you have in the shop...but that takes a while.

I use it for the occasional trip to the shop but it's off the rest of the time. During the day I don't use it at all this time of the year. Temp usually stays around 55'ish til about end Dec...then the shop gets down to low 40's. For me it's not economical enough to keep it on. Garage door insulation raised the temp up about 10deg.

I accidentally left mine on one weekend and it was nice and toasty...about 65deg...January

I have a Dr. Heater infrared 7500W heater...

[Herb Stoops]

I have one of these I heat the shop in the winter takes about 30 min to bring it up to 60°. Overnite during winter will maintain 55°F.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/1500W-Electr ... /898737407
HErb

heat the shop with

[smitty10101]

I looked up the average winter temps in Houston----mid 50's. Is that cold enough to warrant a big heater?
I don't know the size of your shop, or for that matter your ability to weather the cold (pun intended), but it seems to me that a small electrical resistance heater and/or an infrared heater would do.
I'm guessing that my winter temps in SC are similar to yours. In the winter we have about 2 weeks of what is considered cold temps (<45F). I either put on a long sleeve shirt or stay out of the shop for those cool days. Now for the wife--- anything under 70F is COLD.

[Stick486]

I’m thinking of getting one of these to heat my shop for the cooler days here in the Gulf Coast…

that much heat for an insulated shop???
you might want to recompute...
does your window air offer heat???
do insulate the OH door like Nick did... viewtopic.php?f=21&t=1104&p=8734#p8728

[Jon]

For years I used a heater similar to the one Herb uses and on really cold (for here) days I would turn on a second one. Maintained a reasonable 60+ if I left at least one running all the time. The other advantage was to keep the humidity down. Finally after an energy audit clearly showed how much those 2 were costing I bit the bulletin and went for a mini split system. Dropped the electrical bill, keeps the temp even, humidity down and on those days when the outside temp goes bonkers (90+) I have AC. All in all a happy camper.

[Cherryville Chuck]

Things are a bit different here. I use a 30' radiant tube heater. They work best with tall ceilings and mine is only about 9' 5" so I had to angle it but I've been very happy with it since I installed it in the early 90s. The thing I like best about it is the lack of air movement. I have it sucking it's intake air from up in the attic so I don't have issues with debris in the air causing mechanical problems. I find radiant heat feels warmer than forced air heat and it has the plus of warming all the objects in the room (bench, tools, etc.)> I find you don't need to set the thermostat as high to feel as warm with radiant.

[OutoftheWoodwork]

Well, as usual, I'm the oddball - I use (I think a) Dyna-glow 360 radiant heater on a lp tank, and once the heat has risen up enough, I turn on my big fan to circulate, and the shop gets toasty. (Ken worked in a t-shirt. One time, shirtless it got so toasty in there.)

[smitty10101]

Dyna-glow 360 radiant heater on a lp tank

No concern for "open" flame??? or do you finish in a separate building?

[Jon]

Many years ago I worked for a contractor whose large shop (approx 40x50) was heated by a large old wood stove (backed by a floor fan) in which where we burned all the scrap. He also kept a small metal bin of sawdust soaked in used motor oil outside the shop and would bring in a small scoop full to kick start the stove in the mornings. No one was allowed to open the stove door to feed it until all power tools were off and the floor within 5 feet of the stove had been swept clean. We never had any issues with it but I wouldn't care to try it again.

[OutoftheWoodwork]

Dyna-glow 360 radiant heater on a lp tank

No concern for "open" flame??? or do you finish in a separate building?

Usually, we do all the cutting and sanding, and this and that while the heater is on, and when we're done working, we'll turn off the heater, and Ken will go into the "spray booth" and do any spraying. The heat lasts plenty long enough to get any spraying done, and if by chance we still have things we want to do, we leave the heat off long enough for any fumes to dissipate, then turn the heaters back on. But usually, we wait until the end, because while the varnish is wet, you can't make any sawdust, of course.

[Bushwhacker]

I have no neat of any kind in my shop.
I have considered installing something over the years, but have never pulled the trigger on that.
So, when winter arrived here in south Texas, I just stay out of the shop for those 2 days.

Bushwhacker

[Stick486]

I've always had HW radiant floor heat...

[CharleyL]

While heat pumps are not for everybody, because they don't work well at temperatures below 35 deg F, I prefer a heat pump for my shop and home, because no part of them ever gets hot enough to cause a fire, and for me, they are quite economical to run. My heat pumps have electric resistance type strips for the few nights when the heat pumps aren't quite sufficient. I keep my shop at about 60 deg all Winter, and turn it up to about 70 when working out there.

My home actually has 2 heat pumps, because of it's size, giving me the ability to run the bedrooms a few degrees cooler than the living areas. In my area (Just NE of Charlotte, NC) they work very well, since the temps outside are sometimes a little below freezing at night, but well above freezing during Winter days. My insulated brick home tends to slow the need for heat, so it takes a day or two for a sudden really cold snap to make the booster heat radiant strips even turn on. The shop is insulated, but doesn't have the thermal lag that the brick house does, so the shop will have the radiant strips turn on more frequently than the house. When all three are on booster heat, you can hear the electric meter humming, if close to it. A heat pump is just a reversible air conditioner, that can remove the heat from the air outside and bring it inside, or remove the heat from the inside and put it outside. They don't work all that well when the outside temperature is below 35 deg. F, but they still work at a lower efficiency. It's times like this that the heat strips help to keep the house and shop comfortable, but at a higher electric usage.

Charley

[OutoftheWoodwork]

So, when winter arrived here in south Texas, I just stay out of the shop for those 2 days.

Bushwhacker

LOL

Lucky Bum! But then, I've gotten little to nothing done as of late; Been too busy getting the business up and running for Ken starting in snow season. I've got a computer program I'm trying to learn, the bookkeeping and tracking of payments to make sure are properly posted... I'm too damn unorganized and pollack to do this $h!t! lol

We did manage to get a large black cat done, and I got the shapes of grave stones done for Halloween, but that was it. I now have two (or is it three) reindeer to do, and at least one or two reindeer out of birch timber that my daughter said "look at these cuties, mom!" Which means: "Hint Hint! I want some!" The latest ones are made of birch logs, and knowing how she loves her birch trees and not willing to part with them, I told her "get the birch trees...." what does she do? Sends me a picture of one of her trees that just snapped in the last wind storm, with a note that says "down birch tree" and follows it with "it's off the ground" meaning that it's "protected from rotting" in her eyes, since another tree or two is supporting it from laying on the ground to start decomposing, so mom is expected to make some, and I'm sure over Thanksgiving, I'll be given said tree to cut up and make these "adorable reindeer" for her to display.

[Herb Stoops]

The birch: Are you going to do "rounds" or slice it into boards. Be sure to paint the end grain until dry, they will crack. Not sure how you will use them this TG, as it will take time to dry, if you saw boards,stack them flat with stickers to dry, so they will not warp. How big in diam. are the trunks? I have a 6" diam trunk piece that blew down a year ago and even painting the ends it has checked across.
HErb

[OutoftheWoodwork]

@Herb Stoops here are a couple of the pictures she posted on my FB page that she's expecting from me lol

image.png

image.png

[Herb Stoops]

WOW that is clever,Barb. Uses the trunks,branches and twigs. Entirely different from what I visualized. Your daughter has a good eye.
Herb

[OutoftheWoodwork]

@Herb Stoops think so? Good. You come make them lol

[Cherryville Chuck]

I have no neat of any kind in my shop.
I have considered installing something over the years, but have never pulled the trigger on that.
So, when winter arrived here in south Texas, I just stay out of the shop for those 2 days.

Bushwhacker

I can say the same thing about not needing air conditioning in the summer.

[Bushwhacker]

I have no neat of any kind in my shop.
I have considered installing something over the years, but have never pulled the trigger on that.
So, when winter arrived here in south Texas, I just stay out of the shop for those 2 days.

Bushwhacker

I can say the same thing about not needing air conditioning in the summer.

Good point Chuck.

Bushwhacker